If religious gatherings are to take place, churches must stick strictly to the guidelines
The promise of healing should not endanger the lives of the faithful
● The church has always played an important and critical role in the history of our country. Leading up to our new democracy, leaders like Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, the late Beyers Naudé and others come to mind when we speak about the role of the church.
Some of the events that led to our democracy were the gathering of religious leaders at the Rustenburg conference in 1990, the 1993 National Peace Accord after the terrible Bhisho and Boipatong massacres, and supporting the first democratic elections in 1994. The church was extensively involved in fighting the evil system of apartheid.
In the recent past, religious leaders were involved in campaigns that promote unity, peace, stability and the progress of our country during events like the 2010 Fifa World Cup, anticorruption campaigns and the stand against violence against women and children.
Churches also do social relief work. At Rhema, we support children’s homes, homes for people who are struggling against substance abuse, an unwedded mothers’ home, as well as other programmes that benefit the communities around us. Churches and other places of worship are not only about gathering, but much more than that.
When Covid-19 reached our shores, we were among those groups called upon to act in solidarity and put lives and the country first by postponing all our Easter services and Sunday gatherings until such time that the pandemic was under control. Religious leaders responded positively because we know and understand the importance of saving lives.
During the lockdown and the fight against the disease, religious leaders, however, felt left behind and not included in the battle. After we appealed to the president, such leaders became an integral part of the consultation process.
In his address to the nation on Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “Our leaders in the faith community provide spiritual guidance, care and counselling to millions of South Africans, and we are immensely grateful that from the beginning of our task of addressing this health crisis they have stood with us and provided advice, guidance, support and encouragement from the very beginning.”
The main call by churches was to be classified as essential services so that we can help fight this pandemic and offer our expertise. Allowing this would mean we would be able to provide critical mental, spiritual and emotional support; also to offer prayer and counselling for cases of abuse, depression, anxiety et cetera.
This was also about partnering with the government to assist with relief aid. As faith-based organisations and churches, we know where the needy and vulnerable people are in communities.
We will be able to assist the government in dealing with issues on the ground such as relief and food distribution. By utilising faith-based organisations’ existing structures we will be able to offer venues for screening and testing, or facilitate the collection, sorting and distribution of food, clothing and contributions to the needy.
The address by the president was never solely about the gathering of worshippers, but included the whole range of important issues that religious leaders have raised with him.
Our religious leaders occupy positions of immense trust and authority in our communities and need to play a proactive role in raising the level of public awareness around the coronavirus in their services, in faith communication groups, and through their pastoral work. This crisis affects all of us and it needs all of us to fight it.
We commend the president and his government for being inclusive in their approach to the fight against this disease. If we are going to overcome this virus, everybody is needed on the battlefield.
In terms of gatherings, Rhema and our affiliated churches decided long before the president’s announcement that we will not be opening for congregational worship until it is safe to do so.
Instead, we will continue to conduct services online and through television and continue to use the structures we have put in place to care for our congregations and support our communities.
Both in our meeting with the president and through his public address, he has put the importance of saving lives as a priority, and that is what we are doing with our affiliates.
Those who choose to open their services will have to follow the strict guidelines and regulation protocols, and cannot do so in an irresponsible manner. Faith leaders must prioritise the preservation of lives. Lives will be at risk if regulations are not followed, and to this end we call upon our government to strictly enforce the rules as applied to places of worship. Any religious leader who risks the lives of people by opening their church without following the regulations must be dealt with without fear or favour.
We therefore call upon all religious leaders not to open their places worship if they do not have all the necessary hygiene protocols in place, and are not able to follow the guidelines and regulations.
To leaders: your safety, your congregation’s safety, your community’s safety as well as that of our country come first.
In conclusion, we know that there are those among us who will take advantage of this situation and exploit our people and promise them all sorts of things in exchange for healing. We are calling on our people not to be gullible and fall for nonsense in the name of a miracle. We have been warned that the virus is dangerous and it kills — use your common sense when you make a decision, think about your family and your community.
We must all do our part and protect lives at this time. We must continue to pray for our president and the government as they lead us through these challenging and difficult times. As the president said: “It is in our hands.”